Toespraak van minister-president Rutte bij de FED Seminar

Toespraak | 07-10-2015

Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for your warm welcome. It's a pleasure to be here at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. A fitting place to talk about a crucial issue.
Today, I'd like to tell you about two young Dutchmen who went to San Francisco to study in 2011. There, they created the 'Hack 100'. A list of 100 high-tech businesses whose websites they checked for security vulnerabilities. They reported any problems directly to the companies, one of which was Facebook. Alex Rice, Head of Product Security, was impressed and decided to invest in the project. This led to the creation of HackerOne. The company has now located and resolved more than 12,000 security vulnerabilities on the websites of major players like Yahoo, Airbnb and Twitter. Making the internet safer as a result. It's a fantastic example of Dutch-US cooperation. One of those young Dutchmen, Michiel Prins, is taking part in this trade mission, together with some of his colleagues.

Every day these people deal with the focus of this seminar: the impact of emerging technologies on financial services and cyber security. It's about more than one flaw on one site. The internet shapes our daily lives. Everything from our social contacts to our security and infrastructure. It has given us a lot. Like access to information anywhere in the world. And new, smart ways of doing business that increase economic growth and employment. But it has also brought risks.

We must remember that everything - including vital sectors like energy, telecommunications, banking and security - is linked to the internet. So society can't function without network availability. And that makes it vulnerable. Disrupt the system and you disrupt society itself.

The internet also offers criminals opportunities to 'go global'. We've all heard media reports about cyber crime and its consequences. More and more companies and financial institutions are the target of sophisticated cyber attacks. Causing serious economic damage. That's why tackling cyber crime - or, better yet, promoting cyber security - is vital if we want to safeguard the internet.

International cooperation between governments and the private sector is an essential part of this.The internet transcends national borders. Countries must share information and fight cyber crime together.

In the Netherlands, public-private cooperation is a big priority. A successful example of this approach is the Dutch Information Sharing and Analysis Centre which tackles cyber attacks on the financial sector. And it's working: in 2014 the damage caused by payment traffic fraud in the Netherlands was half that in 2013.
Cyber crime is a problem for major multinationals and institutions too. And it's often startups that can offer the quick and flexible solutions needed. That's why, in the Netherlands, we're seeing more and more big businesses and banks joining forces with startups.

I don't think it's a coincidence that 2 young Dutchmen helped found HackerOne. The Netherlands and Flanders are world-leaders when it comes to creating and using innovative digital technologies. Our payment systems are some of the most advanced in the world. So is our IT infrastructure. It's no accident that the Netherlands is home to the world's second-largest internet exchange point. For several years now, our region has been home to a booming cyber-security and FinTech startup scene.

At the same time, Atlanta is gaining a reputation as the Silicon Valley of FinTech and cyber security. Hence the nickname 'Transaction Alley'. And institutions like world-renowned Georgia Tech are providing the knowledge to make this happen.

It's vital that we bring together expertise from the Netherlands, Flanders and Atlanta.

The Dutch-Flemish region is a digital information and logistics hub. Atlanta is the FinTech and cyber-security centre of the world. All have large, tech-savvy workforces with lots to offer each other. And that could lead to new innovations, economic growth and jobs. But it goes deeper than that. It's about enhancing our safety and security. It's about reducing terrorist threats. It's about privacy and quality of life. That's what makes today's discussion so crucial.

Thank you.